......................... Work, writing, family, and the rest of the stuff of life

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

The little yellow wagon

When we wrote the grant that funded our garden (Thank you, again, Women in Philanthropy!) we included the cost of a garden cart because it seemed like a good, practical thing to have. We had no idea!

Our cart came from Lowes and it was exactly what we were looking for. It has four nice, fat tires, and a flatbed with sides that can fold down if necessary. It's been great! I used it again today as I unloaded the pavers that will support our water reclaim barrels. They're heavy but the cart handled 'em easily. (I, on the other hand felt a little like a mule as I dragged the cart behind me up this tiny hill we have. Sad.)

Why am I singing the praises of this little cart? On the very day I purchased it another group (Thank you, Fort Gorden Service Club!) donated $1,000 worth of paper supplies. That's a lot of paper towels, diapers and toilet paper to carry from our lobby to our storage shed. But not for our cart! All summer I've seen residents and staff alike dragging all manner of items around in that cart. Sometimes a mom would put a kid or two in there just for fun. Or, after graduation, several residents used it to truck things from their apartments to a waiting vehicle. Our handyman uses it all the time. Several delivery men have made good use of it. Of course, every time I get new plants, or other garden items, they go right into the cart and I pull it along behind me instead of having the carry stuff in my arms. It gets so well used I don't even put it in our shed - I just leave it out so folks can get to it.

The garden has given us so much that has nothing to do with produce. We learned a lot (but that's another post) and we've enjoyed so many simple things, like watching our refuse and clippings turn into rich compost, or putting vases of fresh herbs out at meetings and hearing people say, "What's that wonderful smell?" And yes, like watching people use a good, solid tool. Our little yellow cart is well appreciated!